Surface feature manager

ABSTRACT

Provided herein is an apparatus, including a mapping means for generating a map of locations of surface features of an article based on photon-detector signals corresponding to photons scattered from the surface features of the article, and a surface feature manager. The surface manager is configured to locate a predetermined surface feature of the surface features of the article based, at least in part, on the map of the surface features locations, irradiate photons of a first power onto the location of the predetermined surface feature to analyze the predetermined surface feature, and irradiate photons of a second power onto the location of the predetermined surface feature to remove the predetermined surface feature.

CROSS REFERENCE

This application claims the benefit and priority to the U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/194,417, filed Feb. 28, 2014 which claims thebenefit and priority to the U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.61/829,131, filed May 30, 2013.

BACKGROUND

An article fabricated on a production line may be inspected for certainfeatures, including defects that might degrade the performance of thearticle or a system including the article. For example, a hard disk fora hard disk drive may be fabricated on a production line and inspectedfor certain surface features, including surface and subsurface defectsthat might degrade the performance of the disk or the hard disk drive.When a surface defect is detected, the article may be deemed unusableand discarded, irrespective of how superficial the defect. In some otherinstances, articles identified with defects may be salvaged by removingthe article from the production line to a separate specialized removaldevice, to remove defects from the article. However, utilizing aseparate specialized removal device may be time intensive. That is, itmay take up to half a day to remove defects from a single article, andcause further net production delays.

SUMMARY

Provided herein is an apparatus, including a mapping means forgenerating a map of locations of surface features of an article based onphoton-detector signals corresponding to photons scattered from thesurface features of the article, and a surface feature manager. Thesurface manager is configured to locate a predetermined surface featureof the surface features of the article based, at least in part, on themap of the surface features locations, irradiate photons of a firstpower onto the location of the predetermined surface feature to analyzethe predetermined surface feature, and irradiate photons of a secondpower onto the location of the predetermined surface feature to removethe predetermined surface feature.

These and other features and aspects of the concepts provided herein maybe better understood with reference to the following drawings,description, and appended claims.

DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an apparatus configured for surface feature detection andinspection of articles according to one aspect of the presentembodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic of photons scattering from a surfacefeature of an article, through an optical setup, and onto a photondetector array according to one aspect of the present embodiments.

FIG. 3 shows a close-up partial map of surface features of an articleinspected for surface features according to one aspect of the presentembodiments.

FIG. 4 provides a close-up image of a portion of the surface featuresmap shown in FIG. 3, according to one aspect of the present embodiments.

FIG. 5A (top) provides an illustrative example of a close-up image ofthe corresponding surface feature from the surface features map providedin FIG. 4, and FIG. 5A (bottom) provides a photon scattering intensitydistribution of the surface feature, according to aspects of the presentembodiments.

FIG. 5B (top) provides a close-up, pixel-interpolated image of thesurface feature depicted in FIG. 5A, and FIG. 5B (bottom) provides aphoton scattering intensity distribution of the pixel-interpolatedsurface feature, according to aspects of the present embodiments.

FIG. 6A shows a surface feature manager locating and irradiating photonsonto a preselected surface feature of an article according to one aspectof the present embodiments.

FIG. 6B shows a surface feature manager according to one aspect of thepresent embodiments.

FIG. 6C shows a surface feature manager removing a preselected surfacefeature from an article according to one aspect of the presentembodiments.

DESCRIPTION

Before some particular embodiments are described and/or illustrated ingreater detail, it should be understood by persons having ordinary skillin the art that the particular embodiments provided herein do not limitthe concepts provided herein, as elements in such particular embodimentsmay vary. It should likewise be understood that a particular embodimentprovided herein has elements which may be readily separated from theparticular embodiment and optionally combined with or substituted forelements in any of several other embodiments described and/orillustrated herein.

It should also be understood by persons having ordinary skill in the artthat the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing someparticular embodiments, and the terminology does not limit the conceptsprovided herein. Unless indicated otherwise, ordinal numbers (e.g.,first, second, third, etc.) are used to distinguish or identifydifferent elements or steps in a group of elements or steps, and do notsupply a serial or numerical limitation. For example, “first,” “second,”and “third” elements or steps need not necessarily appear in that order,and embodiments need not necessarily be limited to the three elements orsteps. It should also be understood that, unless indicated otherwise,any labels such as “left,” “right,” “front,” “back,” “top,” “bottom,”“forward,” “reverse,” “clockwise,” “counter clockwise,” “up,” “down,” orother similar terms such as “upper,” “lower,” “aft,” “fore,” “vertical,”“horizontal,” “proximal,” “distal,” and the like are used forconvenience and are not intended to imply, for example, any particularfixed location, orientation, or direction. Instead, such labels are usedto reflect, for example, relative location, orientation, or directions.It should also be understood that the singular forms of “a,” “an,” and“the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictatesotherwise.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used hereinhave the same meaning as commonly understood by persons of ordinaryskill in the art.

An article fabricated on a production line may be inspected for certainfeatures, including defects, such as particle and stain contaminations,scratches and/or voids, that may degrade the performance of the articleor a system including the article. It is appreciated that withoutinspecting an article for surface features, a finished surface of anarticle, such as a hard disk for a hard disk drive, may unknowingly becontaminated. Further, the contamination of the finished surface of anarticle may lead to scratch formation, debris generation, and/orcorruption of the spacing between the hard disk and a read-write head.

Conventionally, when an article is identified with certain features,such as defects, the article may be discarded, irrespective of howsuperficial the defect. In some instances, rather than discarding thearticle, the article may be salvaged by removing the defect from thesurface of the article. However, conventional mechanisms for removingdefects from an article are time consuming and may cause productiondelays. For example, in order to remove a defect from an article, thearticle is removed from the production line and placed on a specializedremoval device. In order to transfer the article from the productionline to the specialized removal device, the article is carefully sealedand handled to prevent further contamination of the article. Then thespecialized removal device analyzes the article for defects in itsentirety in order to remove defects. That is, as the specialized removaldevice scans the article and locates a defect, the specialized removaldevice removes the defect, rather than directly and individuallylocating and removing the defects. As such, it can be appreciated thatremoving defects utilizing a separate specialized removal device can betime consuming and burdensome, which may, in some instances, outweighthe benefits of salvaging an article. As a result, many articles withdefects are discarded, rather than salvaged, thereby affecting netarticle production.

As such, in some embodiments described herein, an imaging apparatus isconfigured to provide an in situ solution to locate, analyze and removesurface features from an article as the article moves through aproduction line. For instance, an imaging apparatus described herein isconfigured to image and generate a map of surface feature locations ofan article. Once the locations are determined, a surface feature may beselected for further analysis and/or removal. In some instancesdescribed herein, the imaging apparatus includes a surface featuremanager that is configured to locate the selected feature based on thelocation coordinates of the feature from the map, and then irradiatephotons onto the selected surface feature for further feature analysisand feature classification. In this way, manufacturing trends leading tocertain types of surface features may be identified and corrected, andthereby increase product quality. Further, in some instances describedherein, the surface feature manager may irradiate photons of asufficient power to remove the selected feature from the surface of thearticle. As such, the imaging apparatus described herein provides amechanism to utilize a single apparatus to efficiently and rapidlyimage, locate, analyze and remove features to salvage an article thatwould otherwise be discarded.

FIG. 1 shows an apparatus configured for surface feature detection andinspection of articles according to one aspect of the presentembodiments. Described in greater detail below, the apparatus 100includes, but is not limited to, a photon emitter 110, an optical setup120, a camera 130, a surface feature manager 140, and a computer 150displaying an image 160 of article 170. It is appreciated that theapparatus described herein is illustrative and is not intended to limitthe scope of the inventive concepts.

In some embodiments, detection and inspection of features of the article170 may be performed by directing photons from photon emitter 110 ontothe surface of the article 170. When photons scatter from a location ofa surface feature, such as surface feature 180, of the article 170, theoptical setup 120 detects the scattered photons. The article 170 isimaged by the camera 130, locations of the surface features of thearticle 170 are mapped, and the locations of the surface features can berepresented on image 160. Then, a surface feature, such as surfacefeature 180, may selected for a deeper feature analysis and/or removal,which is described in greater detail below in FIGS. 6A-6C.

Before proceeding to further describe the various components ofapparatus 100, it is appreciated that the article 170 as describedherein may be, but is not limited to, semiconductor wafers, magneticrecording media (e.g., hard disks for hard disk drives), glass blanks,workpieces having one or more optically smooth surfaces, and/orworkpieces in any stage of manufacture.

It is further appreciated that that the illustration of a single surfacefeature 180 on the surface of article 170 is illustrative, and is notintended to limit the scope of the inventive concepts described herein.In some embodiments, an article may have no surface features, and inother embodiments the article may have more than one surface feature. Itis further appreciated that the size of the surface feature 180 isillustrative, and is not intended to limit the scope of the inventiveconcepts described herein. It is appreciated that the size of thesurface feature on the surface of article 170 may be of any size, suchas nanometer-sized, micrometer-sized, etc.

Referring now to photon emitter 110, in some embodiments photon emitter110 is configured to emit photons onto the entire or onto a portion ofthe surface of article 170. In some instances, the photon emitter 110may emit light onto the surface of the article 170 to image and maplocations of surface features. For example, the photon emitter 110 mayemit white light, blue light, UV light, coherent light, incoherentlight, polarized light, non-polarized light, or some combinationthereof. As the photon emitter 110 emits photons and/or light onto thesurface of the article 170, the photons or light may reflect and/orscatter from the surface of the article 170 and may be captured by theoptical setup 120 and the camera 130.

In some embodiments, the photon emitter 110 may emit photons onto theentire surface as illustrated in FIG. 1, or some predetermined portionof the article's surface (e.g., for gradational rotation of the articlefor piecewise inspection, if desired). In some embodiments, it may bedesirable to increase the number of photons (e.g., photon flux density)emitted from the photon emitter 110 to provide an increase in photonsscattered for detecting, mapping, and/or characterizing surface featuresof articles. Such an increase in photon flux density may be with respectto unit time for increased photon power, or with respect to unit area.

It is further appreciated that the angle and position of the photonemitter 110 illustrated in FIG. 1 is illustrative and is not intended tolimit the scope of the embodiments. It is appreciated that the photonemitter 110 may be positioned at any location around article 170. It isfurther appreciated that the angle of the photon emitter 110 may beadjusted to emit photons onto the surface of an article to furtherdetect and inspect specific surface features of the article known toscatter at those specific angles. The angle and position of the photonemitter 110 may also be adjusted to irradiate the entire surface or apredetermined portion of an article.

It is appreciated that the illustration of a single photon emitter is anexample, and is not intended to limit the scope of the inventiveconcepts described herein. In some embodiments, it is appreciated thatmore than one photon emitter may be utilized to irradiate the surface ofan article.

In some embodiments, the apparatus 100 includes an optical setup 120.The optical setup 120, in some embodiments, may be configured tomanipulate photons emitted from the photon emitter 110, reflected fromthe surface of the article 170 and/or scattered from the surfacefeatures, such as surface feature 180, of the article 170. For example,the optical setup 120 may include, but is not limited to, lenses,filters, gratings, and mirrors (not shown for purposes of clarity).

For instance, the optical setup 120 may include a lens coupled to aphoton detector array (e.g., photon detector array 202 of FIG. 2) of thecamera 130 configured to collect and detect images of the surfacefeatures of the article 170. In this instance, the lens may have anentrance pupil and an exit pupil, and additional optical components(e.g., other lenses, gratings, and mirrors) may be positioned at or nearthe entrance pupil of the lens, at or near the exit pupil of the lens(e.g., in-between the exit pupil of the lens and the photon detectorarray), or some combination thereof to manipulate photons scattered fromthe surface features of the article 170. In some instances, the lens maybe an objective lens, such as a telecentric lens, including anobject-space telecentric lens (e.g., entrance pupil at infinity), animage-space telecentric lens (e.g., exit pupil at infinity), or a doubletelecentric lens (e.g., both pupils at infinity). Coupling a telecentriclens to a photon detector array reduces errors with respect to themapped position of surface features of articles, reduces distortion ofsurface features of articles, and/or enables quantitative analysis ofphotons scattered from surface features of articles, which quantitativeanalysis includes integration of photon scattering intensitydistribution for size determination of surface features of articles. Itis appreciated that the optical setup 120 may include more than onelens.

In some embodiments, the optical setup 120 may include filters (notshown), such as wavelength filters, band-pass filters, polarizationfilters, coherence filters, periodic array-tuned filters, and phasefilters. It is appreciated that one or more of these filters may be usedto manipulate photons scattered from the surface features of the article170 to distinguish between different types of surface features. In someembodiments, external filters, such as a band-pass filter, a periodicarray-tuned filter, and/or a phase filter, may be used in conjunctionwith the photon emitter 110 to manipulate photons emitted from thephoton emitter 110 prior to reaching the surface of the article 170. Forexample, a phase filter or waveplate may be used in conjunction with thephoton emitter 110 to emit photons onto the surface of the article 170to distinguish between surface features known to differentially scatterphotons with respect to phase. In another example, a wavelength filtermay be used to distinguish between surface features known todifferentially scatter photons with respect to wavelength, apolarization filter may be used to distinguish between surface featuresknown to differentially scatter photons with respect to polarization,and/or a coherence filter may be used to distinguish between surfacefeatures known to differentially scatter photons with respect tocoherence.

In some embodiments, the optical setup 120 may include reflectivesurfaces, such as mirrors. For example, the mirrors may be optical-grademirror and/or one-way mirrors. In some embodiments, the mirrors may beused to manipulate photons reflected from the surface of the article170, photons scattered from surface features of the article 170, and/orsome combination thereof. In some embodiments, external mirrors may beused in apparatus 100 to manipulate photons emitted from the photonemitter 110. For example, mirrors may be positioned in the apparatus 100to redirect photons reflected off the surface of the article 170 backonto the surface of the article 170, thereby recycling photons thatwould otherwise be lost to the environment and minimizing the loss ofthe intensity of the photons irradiated onto the surface of the article170.

In some embodiments, the apparatus includes the camera 130 coupled tothe optical setup 120 and communicatively coupled (not shown) to thecomputer 150. In some embodiments, the camera 130 may be configured torecord images of the article 170 and transmit the recorded images to thecomputer 150 for processing and storage. The camera 130 may be acomplementary metal-oxide semiconductor (“CMOS”) camera, a scientificcomplementary metal-oxide semiconductor (“sCMOS”) camera, acharge-coupled device (“CCD”) camera, an electron-multiplying CCD(“EMCDD”) camera, or a camera configured for use in feature detectionand identification.

In some embodiments, the camera 130 may include a photon detector array(e.g., photon detector array 202 of FIG. 2) configured to collect anddetect photons scattered from features on the surface of the article170. The photon detector array (e.g., photon detector array 202 of FIG.2) may comprise a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (“CMOS”), ascientific complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (“sCMOS”), acharge-coupled device (“CCD”), or an electron-multiplying CCD (“EMCDD”),which may be part of the camera 130.

In some embodiments, depending upon factors that may include the type ofarticle, the type of surface features (e.g., particle, stain, scratch,void, etc.), and the like, it may be desirable at times to increasedetection time of the photon detector array (e.g., photon detector array202 of FIG. 2) of the camera 130 to detect more photons for detecting,mapping, and/or characterizing surface features of articles. In someembodiments, for example, detection time may be increased to detect morephotons. In such embodiments, a CCD-based photon detector array,including an electron-multiplying EMCCD may be used to further detectmore photons.

In some embodiments, the photon detector array and/or camera 130 may beoriented to collect and detect photons scattered from surface featuresof the article 170 at an optimized distance and/or an optimized anglefor a maximum acceptance of scattered photons from one or more types ofsurface features. Such an optimized angle may be the angle between a ray(e.g., a photon or light ray) including the center line axis of thephoton detector array to the surface of the article 170 and the normal(i.e., a line perpendicular to the surface of the article 170) at thepoint at which the ray is extended. The optimized angle may be equal toor otherwise include a scatter angle for one or more types of surfacefeatures, and the scatter angle may be a different angle than the angleof reflection, which angle of reflection is equal to the angle ofincidence. For example, photon detector array and/or the camera 130 maybe oriented at an optimized angle ranging from 0° to 90°. Here, anoptimized angle of 90° represents orientation of the photon detectorarray and/or camera 130 at a side of the article 170, an optimized angleof 0° represents orientation of the photon detector array or photondetector array directly above the article 170, as illustrated in FIG. 1.

Although FIG. 1 illustrates a single camera with a single photondetector array, it is intended to be illustrative and is not intended tolimit the scope of the inventive concepts described herein. In someembodiments, the apparatus 100 may comprise a plurality of camerasincluding a plurality of photon detector arrays. In other embodiments,the apparatus 100 may include a plurality of cameras, where each cameraincludes a single photon detector array. In further embodiments, theapparatus 100 may include a single camera including a plurality ofphoton detector arrays.

In some embodiments, the apparatus 100 further includes the computer150. The computer 150 may be communicatively coupled (not shown forclarity of illustration) to the camera 130 to store images of thearticle 170 recorded by the camera 130. In some embodiments, thecomputer 150 may be communicatively coupled (not shown for clarity ofillustration) to the surface feature manager 140 to transmit locationcoordinates of a specific surface feature to the surface feature manager140, and further cause the surface feature manger 140 to irradiatephotons onto the specific surface feature for analysis and/or forremoval.

In some embodiments, the computer 150 may be communicatively coupled(not shown) to the photon emitter 110 to control how photons are emittedonto the surface of the article 170. In some instances, the computer 150may be configured to move the photon emitter 110 to a distance and/or anangle optimized for inspecting one or more types of features, switch thephoton emitter 110 on and/or off, and/or switch between modes foremitting photons and not emitting photons.

Computer 150 may also be configured to, but is not limited to, mount andunmount the article 170 in the apparatus 100, position the article 170for illumination and inspection by maintaining the position of thearticle 170 in the apparatus 100, and/or optionally includinggradational rotation of the article 170 for piecewise inspection. Insome embodiments, the computer 150 may be configured to insert opticalcomponents into the optical setup 130, for example, using a mechanicalactuator, position optical components for inspection, adjust opticalcomponents (e.g., focus lenses) and/or tune optical components forinspection, and/or remove optical components from the optical setup 120.

In some embodiments, the computer 150 may be further configured toidentify features of the article 170, such as disk defects. Forinstance, the computer 150 may be configured to process photon detectorarray (e.g., photon detector array 202 of FIG. 2) signals from scatteredphotons, including pixel interpolation for better accuracy (e.g., 10×better than pixel size) with respect to the position of surfacefeatures. In some embodiments, the computer 150 may be configured tosynchronize each photon emitter of photon emitter 110 with each pixelsensor (e.g., pixel sensor 204 of FIG. 2) of a photon detector array(e.g., photon detector array 202 of FIG. 2) in accordance with a photonemission-photon detection scheme.

In some instances, the computer 150 may map locations of surfacefeatures of articles from photon detector array signals or processedphoton detector array signals. For example, the computer 150 may beoperable to accurately and/or precisely determine the photon scatteringintensity distribution (e.g., FIGS. 5A [bottom] and 5B [bottom]) of afeature on the surface of an article. Such a photon scattering intensitydistribution may be used to characterize a surface feature of an articleboth quantitatively and qualitatively.

As noted above, the computer 150 may quantitatively and/or qualitativelycharacterize surface features of articles, in some instances. Withrespect to quantitative characterization of a surface feature of anarticle, mathematical integration of a photon scattering intensitydistribution provides the size (e.g., volume) of the surface feature ofthe article. Quantitative characterization of a surface feature of anarticle may further include a determination of surface feature positionon the article as described herein. Quantitative characterization mayeven further include the total number of surface features per article,or the number of surface features per unit area per article, as well asthe number of each type of surface feature on the article. Suchcharacterization information may be cataloged across a number ofarticles and be used to correct manufacturing trends should suchfeatures include surface and/or subsurface defects that might degradethe performance of the article.

With respect to qualitative characterization of a surface feature of anarticle, qualitative characterization may include a determination of themorphology, form, or shape of the surface feature of the article,including whether the surface feature is a particle, a stain, a scratch,or a void, etc., which determination may be effected by, but is notlimited to, analysis of photon scattering intensity distributions.Qualitative characterization may further include chemicalcharacterization of surface features known to differentially scatterphotons such as, but not limited to, certain oxides, which may havefaceted surfaces that differentially and/or directionally scatterphotons. Qualitative characterization may even further includedistinguishing between surface features known to differentially scatterphotons with respect to wavelength, polarization, and/or a phase filteror a waveplate.

In some embodiments, qualitative characterization of one or more surfacefeatures of an article may include contrasting photon-scatteringinformation in the effective absence of one of the foregoing filterswith photon-scattering information using one or more of the foregoingfilters or contrasting a first surface features map produced in theeffective absence of one of the foregoing filters with a second surfacefeatures map (or a number of surface features maps) produced using oneor more of the foregoing filters. Along with quantitativecharacterization information, such qualitative characterizationinformation may be cataloged across a number of articles and be used tocorrect manufacturing trends should such features include surface and/orsubsurface defects that might degrade the performance of the article.

In some embodiments, the computer 150 may perform deep feature analysisof a specific surface feature. For example, in response to the surfacefeature manager irradiating photons onto the selected surface feature,such as surface feature 180 and further in response to the opticalset-up 120 and camera 130 transmitting photon-detector signalscorresponding to photons scattered from the selected surface feature,the computer 150 may perform additional analysis, such as Ramanspectroscopy analysis, luminescence measurements, loss spectroscopyanalysis, electron spectroscopy analysis, based on the photon-detectorsignals. In this way, the computer 150 may be used to do a more detailedand extensive analysis of a selected surface feature.

It is appreciated that computer 150 may be a desktop computer, aworkstation, a portable device (e.g., a mobile device, a tablet, alaptop, or a smartphone), a server or some computing device that may beconfigured to store and perform image based feature detection andinspection.

In some embodiments, the apparatus 100 further includes a surfacefeature manager 140. In some embodiments, the surface feature manager140, which is described in greater detail in FIGS. 6A-6C, is configuredto locate a specific surface feature, such as surface feature 180, toirradiate photons onto the surface feature for deep feature analysis. Inthis way, manufacturing trends leading to certain types of surfacefeatures may be identified and corrected, and thereby increase productquality. Further, in some embodiments, the surface feature manager 140is configured to remove the surface feature 180 from the surface of thearticle 170. In this way, the apparatus 100 described herein, in someembodiments, provides a mechanism to salvage an article that may have adefect, rather than discarding the article, which results in a higherarticle production yield compared to other article inspectionmechanisms.

It is further appreciated that the apparatus 100 described herein may beconfigured to process or inspect articles at a rate greater than orcommensurate with the rate at which the articles or workpieces thereofare produced. Processing or inspecting articles at rates greater than orcommensurate with the rate at which the articles or workpieces thereofare produced is a function of many features of the apparatus 100described herein, including, but not limited to, photon emitters and/orarticles that need not be moved (e.g., for scanning) during processingor inspecting. For example, with photon emitter 110, an article such asa hard disk of a hard disk drive need not be rotated during processingor inspecting. As such, the apparatus 100 can hold an article stationarywhile emitting photons onto the surface of the article, thereby savingtime since the article can be quickly examined while remaining in astatic position.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a schematic of photons scattering from asurface feature of an article, through an optical set up, and onto aphoton detector array is illustrated according to one aspect of thepresent embodiments. As illustrated in FIG. 2, article 170 comprises asurface 172 and a surface feature 180. Although FIG. 2 illustrates anarticle with a single surface feature, it is intended to be an exampleand not intended to limit the scope of the inventive concepts. It isappreciated that an article may have more than one feature, which may beimaged for feature detection, identification, feature analysis, and/orfeature removal.

Photons emitted from a photon emitter, such as photon emitter 110 ofFIG. 1, or a plurality of photon emitters, may be scattered by thesurface feature 180 and collected and detected by the optical setup 120in combination with photon detector array 202 of camera 130, which maybe positioned at a distance and/or an angle for an optimum acceptance ofphotons (e.g., maximum acceptance of photons with minimum backgroundnoise) scattered from one or more types of features.

The optical setup 120, which may comprise a telecentric lens, maycollect and focus the photons scattered from the surface feature 180onto one or more pixel sensors 204 of photon detector array 202, whicheach may comprise a photon detector coupled to an amplifier (e.g.,CMOS/sCMOS-based photon detector array). The one or more pixel sensors204, each of which corresponds to a particular, fixed area of anarticle's 170 surface 172 and a pixel in a map of the article's 170surface features, may provide one or more signals to a computer, such ascomputer 150 described in FIG. 1, for mapping or otherwise determiningthe location of the surface feature 180.

FIG. 5A (top) provides an illustrative example of a feature in aclose-up image of a portion of the map of surface features provided inFIG. 4, which, in turn, is an illustrative example of a close-up imageof a portion of the map of surface features provided in FIG. 3. Acomputer, such as computer 150 of FIG. 1, or equivalent device, maysubsequently use pixel interpolation, FIG. 5A (bottom), for furthermapping the surface feature. FIG. 5B provides an illustrative example ofa pixel-interpolated image of a surface feature, such as the surfacefeature from FIG. 5A.

Although FIGS. 3-4 and FIGS. 5A-5B depict images of a magnetic medium,it is appreciated that the depictions are illustrative and are notintended to limit the scope of the inventive concepts described herein.It is appreciated that the imaging, mapping, and pixel interpolation asillustrated in FIGS. 3-4 and FIGS. 5A-5B may be used for articles indifferent stages of manufacture.

Referring now to FIG. 6A, a surface feature manager 140 is shownlocating and irradiating photons 190 a onto a preselected surfacefeature of an article according to one aspect of the presentembodiments. In some embodiments, the surface feature manager locates aspecific surface feature based on a map of surface feature locations ofarticle 170 generated by computer 150. In some embodiments, the computer150 generates a map of article 170 based on an x-axis and y-axiscoordinate system. In this exemplary embodiment, the x-axis and they-axis may refer to longitudinal and latitudinal directions,respectively, with reference to article 170.

After the computer 150 generates the map, a surface feature may beselected for deep feature analysis. In some embodiments, a surfacefeature may be automatically selected and/or selected based on a userselection. In this exemplary embodiment, surface feature 180 is selectedfor deep feature analysis, and the computer 150 transmits the locationcoordinates (e.g., x-axis and y-axis coordinates) of surface feature 180to the surface feature manager 140.

The surface feature manager 140 locates the surface feature 180 based onthe location coordinates, and irradiates photons onto the surfacefeature 180. In some embodiments, the surface feature manager 140includes a photon source 602 (FIG. 6B) that emits photons, andreflective surfaces 604 a-604 c, such as mirrors, that direct thephotons emitted from the photon source onto surface feature 180, asillustrated in FIG. 6B. When the surface feature manager 140 receivesthe location coordinates of the surface feature 180, the reflectivesurfaces 604 a, 604 b, and 604 c may be tilted and/or pivoted aboutx-axis and/or y-axis directions to cause the emitted photons 190 a (FIG.6A) to irradiate the surface feature 180, as shown in FIG. 6A.

In some embodiments, once the photons 190 a are directed onto thesurface feature 180, the surface feature 180 may further analyzed. Insome instances, the photons 190 a irradiated onto the surface feature180 may be of a low power sufficient to irradiate the surface feature180 for analyzing the surface feature 180. For example, the surfacefeature manager 140 may emit collimated light, such as a laser beam,onto the surface feature 180, that causes the laser beam to scatter offthe surface feature 180. As noted in FIG. 1, the laser beams scatteredfrom the surface feature 180 are captured by the optical setup 120and/or the photon detector array (e.g., photon detector array 202 ofFIG. 2) of camera 130, and then photon-detector signals are transmittedto the computer 150 to analyze and process the photon-detector signals.In this exemplary embodiment, based on the photon-detector signals, thecomputer 150 may perform a Raman spectroscopy analysis of the surfacefeature 180, luminescence measurements, and/or perform qualitativeand/or quantitative characterization of the surface feature 180 asdescribed herein.

In some embodiments, rather than irradiating collimated light onto thesurface feature 180, the surface feature manager 140 may irradiate anelectron beam, an ion beam, and/or X-rays onto the surface feature 180.It is appreciated that by irradiating the surface feature 180 withaforementioned sources, the surface feature 180 may react differently toeach source and allow for different types of analysis of the surfacefeature 180. That is, the surface feature 180 may react differently toan electron beam irradiated upon it compared to an ion beam and furtherdifferently compared to X-rays, which may reveal different types ofinformation. Based on the surface feature's 180 reaction to a specifictype of source, different types of analysis may be performed. Forinstance, computer 150 may perform loss spectroscopy analysis and/orelectron spectroscopy analysis when an electron beam is irradiated ontothe surface feature 180.

In some embodiments, the surface feature manager 140 may be configuredto irradiated a different combination of collimated light, electronbeam, ion beam, and X-rays. In this exemplary embodiment, it isappreciated that different combination analyses of a surface feature maybe performed, such as Raman spectroscopy analysis, luminescencemeasurements, loss spectroscopy analysis, electron spectroscopyanalysis, and/or some combination thereof based on the source typeirradiating the surface feature 180.

It is further appreciated that the combination of the surface featuremanager 140, the camera 130, optical set-up 120 and the computer 150allows for nearly real-time deep analysis of a specific surface featurewhile the article is moving through a production line. It is alsoappreciated that the apparatus 100 provides the convenience and certaintime efficiencies by performing targeted deep analysis of individualsurface features without utilizing a separate specialized removal deviceand further without removing the article from a production line.

Referring now to FIG. 6C, a surface feature manager removing apreselected surface feature from an article is shown according to oneaspect of the present embodiments. In some embodiments, rather thandiscarding an article with a certain surface feature, such as a defect,the surface feature manager is used to salvage the article byirradiating photons to remove a specific surface feature. After thesurface feature manager 140 receives location coordinates of surfacefeature 180 (such as described in FIG. 6A), the surface feature manager140 locates the position of surface feature 180, and then irradiatescollimated light 190 b (FIG. 6C), such as a laser beam, of sufficientpower to cause the surface feature 180 to evaporate or to slice off thesurface of the article 170. It is appreciated that by removing defectsfrom the surface of an article, more useable articles are produced incomparison to articles produced by conventional inspection apparatus.

It is further appreciated that because apparatus 100 provides a combinedmechanism to locate, analyze, and remove surface features from anarticle, certain efficiencies are gained as described herein. Forinstance, the apparatus 100 allows for nearly real-time identificationand location of defects on the surface of an article, and provides anearly real-time solution to the problem (e.g., removal of the defect)in contrast to conventional mechanisms that are cumbersome and timeintensive. Moreover, the apparatus 100 provides a mechanism to do moretargeted analysis and/or removal of individual surface features, whichprovides additional efficiencies in article production.

As such, provided herein is an apparatus, including: a photon emitterconfigured to emit photons onto a surface of an article, a photondetector configured to receive photons scattered from surface featuresof the article, a mapping means for generating a map of the locations ofsurface features of the article based on information received from thephoton detector, and a surface feature manager configured to utilize, atleast in part, the map of the surface feature locations to locate andirradiate photons specifically onto a surface feature preselected fromthe mapped surface features.

In some embodiments, the preselected surface feature is a single surfacefeature of the article. In some embodiments, the surface feature managerincludes one or more reflective surfaces configured to controllablydirect the irradiating photons to the location of the preselectedsurface feature. In some embodiments, the mapping means transmitslocation coordinates of the preselected surface feature to the surfacefeature manager, and the surface feature manager locates the preselectedsurface feature based on the location coordinates received from themapping means.

In some embodiments, the photon detector is further configured toreceive the irradiating photons scattered from the preselected surfacefeature, and the mapping means is further configured to analyze andclassify the preselected surface feature based on information receivedfrom the photon detector. The surface feature manager is furtherconfigured to remove the preselected surface feature, in someembodiments. In some embodiments, the apparatus further includes atelecentric lens coupled to the photon detector. In some embodiments,the photon detector includes a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor(“CMOS”), a scientific complementary metal-oxide semiconductor(“sCMOS”), or a charge-coupled device (“CCD”).

Also provided herein is an apparatus including a mapping means forgenerating a map of locations of surface features of an article based onphoton-detector signals corresponding to photons scattered from thesurface features of the article, and a surface feature manager. In someembodiments, the surface feature manager is configured to: locate apredetermined surface feature of the surface features of the articlebased, at least in part, on the map of the surface features locations,irradiate photons of a first power onto the location of thepredetermined surface feature to analyze the predetermined surfacefeature, and irradiate photons of a second power onto the location ofthe predetermined surface feature to remove the predetermined surfacefeature.

In some embodiments, the first and second power are different. In someembodiments, the surface feature manager includes one or more reflectivesurfaces configured to controllably direct the irradiating photons tothe location of the preselected surface feature. In some embodiments,the mapping means transmits location coordinates of the preselectedsurface feature to the surface feature manager, and the surface featuremanager locates the preselected surface feature based on the locationcoordinates received from the mapping means. In some embodiments, theapparatus further includes a photon detector configured to receivephotons scattered from surface features of the article and transmitphoton-detector signals to the mapping means.

Also provided herein is an apparatus including a processing meansconfigured to select, for removal, a surface feature from a surfacefeatures map of surface features of an article, wherein the surfacefeatures map includes location coordinates of the surface features ofthe article based on photon-detector signals corresponding to photonsscattered from the surface features. In some embodiments, the apparatusfurther includes a surface feature manager configured to locate theselected surface feature based on the location coordinates of theselected surface feature received from the processing means, andirradiate photons onto the selected surface feature to remove theselected surface feature from the article.

In some embodiments, the surface feature manager includes one or morereflective surfaces configured to controllably direct the irradiatingphotons to the location of the preselected surface feature. The surfacefeature manager is configured, in some embodiments, to irradiate photonsonto the location of the selected surface feature to analyze theselected surface feature prior to irradiating photons to remove theselected surface feature. In some embodiments, the surface featuremanager is configured to irradiate photons of a first power onto thelocation of the selected surface feature to analyze the selected surfacefeature, and the surface feature manager irradiates photons of a secondpower to remove the selected surface feature. The first and secondpowers are different, in some embodiments.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further includes a photon detectorconfigured to receive photons scattered from surface features of thearticle and transmit photon-detector signals to the processing means. Insome embodiments, the photon detector includes a complementarymetal-oxide semiconductor (“CMOS”), a scientific complementarymetal-oxide semiconductor (“sCMOS”), or a charge-coupled device (“CCD”).

While some particular embodiments have been described and/or illustratedherein, and while these particular embodiments have been describedand/or illustrated in considerable detail, it is not the intention ofthe applicants for these particular embodiments to limit the scope ofthe concepts presented herein. Additional adaptations and/ormodifications may readily appear to persons having ordinary skill in theart, and, in broader aspects, these adaptations and/or modifications maybe encompassed as well. Accordingly, departures may be made from theforegoing embodiments without departing from the scope of the conceptsprovided herein. The implementations provided herein and otherimplementations are within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: a photon emitterconfigured to emit photons onto a surface of an article; a photondetector configured to receive photons scattered from surface featuresof the article; a mapping means for generating a map of surface featuresof the article and locations associated therewith, wherein the mapgeneration is based on information received from the photon detector,and wherein the map is generated as the article moves through aproduction line; subsequent to the map generation, reflective surfacesconfigured to direct photons from the photon emitter onto specificlocation of the surface of the article based on the map and furtherbased on selection of the specific location thereof; and a processorconfigured to further analyze features at the specific location of themap based on reflected photons scattered from the article and capturedby the photon detector in response to the reflective surfaces directingphotons from the photon emitter onto specific location of the surface,wherein the further analysis occurs as the article moves through theproduction line.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising: asurface feature manager configured to locate and irradiate photons ontothe surface features at the specific location in response to theselection from the generated map, wherein the photon detector is furtherconfigured to receive the irradiating photons scattered from theselected surface features.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein thesurface feature manager is further configured to remove the selectedsurface features.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the selection ofthe specific location on the generated map is user selected.
 5. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the further features analysis is selectedfrom a group consisting of a Raman spectroscopy analysis, luminescencemeasurements, loss spectroscopy analysis, and electron spectroscopyanalysis.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the photon emitter emitphotons selected from a group consisting of ion-beam, X-ray, andelectron beam.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor isconfigured to analyze and classify the selected surface features basedon information received from the photon detector.
 8. The apparatus ofclaim 7, wherein the classification is based on a type of featureassociated with the features at the specific location and further basedon a size associated with the features at the specific location.
 9. Theapparatus of claim 1 further comprising a telecentric lens coupled tothe photon detector.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the photondetector comprises a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (“CMOS”), ascientific complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (“sCMOS”), or acharge-coupled device (“CCD”).
 11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thereflective surfaces are configured to redirect photons reflected off thesurface of the article back onto the surface of the article to recyclephotons.
 12. An apparatus comprising: a photon emitter configured toemit photons onto a surface of an article; a mapping means forgenerating a map of surface features of the article and locationsassociated therewith, wherein the map generation is based on informationreceived from a photon detector capturing scattered lights reflectedfrom the surface of the article, wherein the map is generated as thearticle moves through a production line; reflective surfaces configuredto direct photons from the photon emitter onto specific location of thesurface of the article based on the map and further based on selectionof the specific location thereof; and a surface feature managerconfigured to: locate features at the specific location based on theselection from the generated map, irradiate photons of a first poweronto the specific location to further analyze the features at thespecific location, in response to the selection from the generated map,as the article moves through the production line, and irradiate photonsof a second power onto the specific location to remove at least onefeature of the features in response to a user selection thereof.
 13. Theapparatus of claim 12, wherein the first and second powers aredifferent.
 14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the photon emitter issynchronized with a photon-detector.
 15. The apparatus of claim 12,wherein the selection of the specific location on the generated map isuser selected.
 16. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the furtherfeatures analysis comprises a Raman spectroscopy analysis, luminescencemeasurements, loss spectroscopy analysis, and electron spectroscopyanalysis.
 17. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the surface featuremanager is configured to analyze and classify features at the specificlocation based on information received from the photon detector inresponse to irradiation photons of the first power onto the specificlocation.
 18. An apparatus comprising: a photon emitter configured toemit photons onto a surface of an article; a mapping means forgenerating a map of surface features of the article and locationsassociated therewith, wherein the map generation is based on informationreceived from a photon detector capturing scattered lights reflectedfrom the surface of the article, wherein the map is generated as thearticle moves through a production line; and a surface feature managerconfigured to: locate features at specific location of the article basedon a selection from the generated map, irradiate photons onto thespecific location to further analyze the features at the specificlocation, in response to the selection from the generated map, as thearticle moves through the production line.
 19. The apparatus of claim18, wherein the further analysis determines chemical characterizationassociated with the features at the specific location.
 20. The apparatusof claim 18, wherein the surface feature manager is further configure toirradiate photons onto the specific location, in response to a userselection thereof, to remove at least one feature of the features at thespecific location.